Led by our intrepid tour guide, Gayle and I spent several stretches Day 2 in Instanbul on Public…read moreTransit. All we needed to do was scan our credit card at the entrance turnstyles and for 88 cents US, we were on our way. We found Istanbul public transit to be a safe, clean, and efficient experience, of which people watching the locals was fun and interesting. Our adventure included lots of light rail choices, plus 2 funiculars, of which the Taksim Karaköy Tünel was the most interesting. This historical line, which opened on 17 January 1875, covers the 573-metre route (uphill for us) between Karaköy and Beyoğlu in approximately 102 seconds. And before I could pull my camera out and frame a shot, our ride was over!

This is a ferry terminal on the Asian side to connect multiple locations on both sides of Istambul…read more Tons of street vendors outside plenty of Istanbul cart stations for topping off your card, and given its prime location can be packed

This ferry terminal can get you a lot of places in Istanbul. I never knew that this place existed…read moretill tipped off by an taxi driver that was really informative! For here just walk up to one the employees and ask which boat you should get on for your final destination and they will be happy to direct you, they were nice people. This area is pretty crowded with people because different forms of transportation is around including the ultra fast Marmaray not far.

a great and economical way to see the bosphorousread more

From here you can go to a few different places in Istanbul by the sea bus, which can get you to…read morethese places pretty quickly especially while getting to skip traffic which is the main benefit of taking this besides getting good air and scenery.